Unpredictability
by Boboch
Summary: Hashirama, and Madara. Hiruzen, and Danzo. Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. Kakashi, and Obito. Love vs Hatred. Light vs Dark. Good vs Evil. Loyalty vs Betrayal. Cycles. In canon, we saw the same with Naruto and Sasuke. Not this time. The cycle ends, and just like the main character, unpredictability reigns.
1. Chapter 1

_Unpredictability_

 _Preamble_

"Good morning class," proclaims Iruka Umino.

"I hope everyone got enough sleep last night because today may be one of the most important days of your young life. Each of you will be getting a single sheet of paper that has a basic security seal on it. You are to decipher this seal, and then follow the instructions on the paper. You have 10 minutes, or you fail."

Iruka then smiles encouragingly at his class of genin-hopefuls, "You are all more than ready for this. I believe in you, may the will of fire guide you."

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"Hajime!"

 _Hokage Tower, Same Time_

A man quietly works at a wood desk, the light of the new day shining behind him. He browses the paper in front of him and signs his name on the bottom, and then moves it on top of a pile of similar documents to the right. He glances up, piercing blue eyes stare at the door as a knock reverberates through the room.

"Enter!" The man responds.

The oak door creaks as a scarred man walks in.

"Hokage-sama, you summoned me?" asks the scarred man.

The Hokage nods and motions to a chair in front of him. The scarred man nods in thanks as he sits.

"Thank you for coming so quickly Shikaku. I'm sorry if it was a bad time, but I need your opinion on something."

The scarred leader of the Nara clan raises an eyebrow, and sighs, "Something tells me this is going to be incredibly troublesome."

Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage, chuckles, "Hardly. I just wanted to run something by you. What do you think about this."

Minato grabs something from his desk and hands it to Shikaku. He then glances out the window as the man scans the document. His eyes just so happen to fall on the academy, and he smiles.

'Show the world, Naru.'

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A inhuman roar vibrates the corridor as a masked nin body flickers back. The ninja only has seconds before the being that roared appears in front of them, and like clockwork the monster appears with a punch ready. The masked nin dodges with the grace of a dancer before bringing their fist right by the monster's neck. Thinking the ninja missed the monster is not ready to dodge as a katana seeming materializes in the ninja's hand; soon enough the monster is relieved of its head. Shaking the blood off, the katana dematerializes and the ninja resumes their mission.

Appearing in the center lab where the monster came from, the ninja stands next to three people wearing similar porcelain masks. Monsters just like the one in the corridor lay all around, some burnt, some electrocuted, some mutilated, but all dead. A man whimpers in a corner of the lab, he has dark blue hair with gray eyes. All of the ninja remain silent, even as the man begs for his life.

"Please. Please." The man cries.

He continues to beg for mercy; he thinks keeping him alive is a mercy, He is wrong. With a quick neck slap, the man is unconscious. The ninja lay him down on the ground as one of them begins drawing on a scroll. With quick movements, the masked nin from the fight in the corridor creates a sealing array and with naught but a hand sign the scientist's unconscious body is almost digitized as it is sealed into the scroll.

With that done, the ninjas all body flicker away.

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"Oh, Naruto? Done already? Well, I can't say I'm surprised." Iruka smiles as he shakes Naruto's hand.

The exalted child of the Hokage smiles in return.

"Please proceed outside so Mizuki can test your taijutsu."

Naruto nods and walks out, his hands in his pockets. Soon enough, he'll be named rookie of the year. He just hopes his parents can make the ceremony.

 **Preamble: A short introduction**

 **Tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

Unpredictiability

Chapter 1: All Beginnings…

"And with a perfect score in all areas, I am happy to give the prestigious title of rookie of the year to Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki!"

Naruto ascends the steps to the altar where both Iruka and Mizuki are smiling at him. He is handed a scroll as well as a diploma; turning around he bows to the somewhat big crowd watching the affair. He then walks off the stage and out of the section of the academy where the awards are given. The young prodigy hears the name of the Hyuga Heiress be called as the Top Kunoichi, but he can't find It within himself to care.

His parents hadn't made it. He knew there was a good chance they couldn't with how busy they were, but it still stung. He was a genin now! A full-fledged adult! He shouldn't be crying over childish things like this. He aimlessly walked to the swing overlooking the main entrance to the academy. This was a favorite spot of his, especially on days where his parents were busy. He grabs a hold of one of the ropes holding the swing, and finds himself feeling so cold. He hates this feeling. He hates hi-

"You really do take after your dad. I was jumping up and down like a spaz when I graduated, y'know."

"A cute spaz."

"Oh shut up you."

Naruto's eyes widen as two people come into view.

Minato and Kushina Namikaze-Uzumaki smile warmly at their son.

"C'mon. We wouldn't miss this for the world."

Naruto, previous dark emotions forgotten, runs into his family's embrace. Despite himself, he finds the tears coming.

"I-I thought you were too busy."

Minato's hand ruffles his son's hair, "What kind of parents would we be if we didn't take our little rookie of the year to Ichiraku to celebrate?"

Naruto grins, "Is it all you can eat?"

The Yondaime's face mirrors his son's.

"Is that even a question?"

"YES! I'm gonna eat ramen all night, believe it!"

And with that, Naruto runs off leaving a dust trail behind him.

The Kage sighs, "See? He can be just as much a spaz as you."

…

No response.

Minato looks to where his wife was, only for her image to disappear, a dust trail just as big as Naruto's appears in the distance.

Another sigh escapes the Namikaze. He then smiles and promptly disappears in a flash of yellow.

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Hours later at the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan house, Naruto is fast asleep in his room on the second floor. In the first floor living room, sit four of Konoha's strongest shinobi: Jirayia of the Sanin, spymaster and perfect sage. Tsunade Senju of the Sanin, the world's best medic and arguably the strongest living Kunoichi. The Yondaime Hokage as well as the SS-ranked Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze-Uzumaki, and the S-ranked Red Death of Konoha, Kushina Namikaze-Uzumaki. Each of them is enjoying some nice aged warm sake.

"Rookie of the year huh? The brat sure takes after you two." Compliments Tsunade in her usual drunk attitude, blunt.

Jirayia snorts in amusement, "That was real flattering, princess."

"Shaddup. God knows that kid is gonna be showered in praise enough. Last thing he needs is even more of an ego boost."

Kushina boisterously laughs as she sets her now empty saucer down.

"Naru hates ego maniacs. You shoulda seen him when he first met Hizazshi's brat."

Minato sighs, "I still do not understand why Hiashi let that spar happen."

"Eh, who cares. Naru wiped the floor with that little shit."

Jirayia chuckles, "I remember that. They were praising that kid as the best Hyuga ever."

The Uzumaki trademark grin appears on the Red Death's face, "Not after Naru was done with him."

Minato just shakes his head with an exasperated look on his face.

A comfortable silence settles in, the four adults just enjoying the chance to relax.

It was Jirayia who interrupted the silence.

"Does he know yet?"

Minato puts his saucer down and stares out the window. His rising anger must have been visible on his face, because Kushina laid on hand on his. Or maybe she just knew him well enough to know. He's long stopped trying to understand how the red haired Uzu Princess knows him so well.

"He knows everything we do. I haven't told him my suspicions, of course. Last thing he needs to worry about is what I think I saw that night."

Jirayia swivels his saucer a bit, before downing the burning liquid.

"The kid's smart, you should tell him that too. Obito might be dead, but that plant guy is still active."

Kushina cuts in, "To this day I still can't believe sweet little Obito was that vile man."

Tsunade simply shakes her head, "Hate. Hate like that changes you. All the Uchiha can fall victim to that."

A snort from Jirayia causes everyone to glance at him, "Fucking Uchiha."

"That's it?"

"Yup."

Minato snorts, before beginning to chuckle. Soon enough all four legendary shinobi find themselves nearly crying in laughter.

"Who wants more sake?:

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Narutp relaxes against the wooden desk of the academy, his black haori shifting as the breeze comes through the window. It was one of the almost ridiculous amounts of presents he had gotten. He decided to wear in on top of his regular outfit, which is a camo top with regular Jonin pants. He cups his chin as all the other graduates wander in. He wonders idly if Kashi will be his sensei. Losing himself in his pondering, he doesn't notice both of the seats to his left and right taken.

"Man, what a drag. I thought I could at least nap in here, but everyone's way too loud."

"Tch, as if that's stopped you before, lazy ass."

Shikamaru sighs, "At least be original with your insults, duck."

Sasuke grunts, and the Hokage's son chuckles.

Two raised eyebrows, and Naruto just nods towards the door as Iruka walks in.

Naruto finds himself zoning Iruka out, not because of any kind of indifference or anything, but because something pulled him. He finds himself in a gigantic corridor, with marble pillars and paintings on nearly every wall. Most of these paintings are blank; the ones that have things on them are a picture of a certain memory. The most recent one is him, his mom, and his dad all enjoying ramen to celebrate his rookie nomination. He walks down the corridor for a minute or so, before coming to a gate that spans from wall to wall in the corridor. On the other side of the gate are more paintings, but they are all blurred to the young prodigy. He often wonders how far the corridor goes, especially considering how old the being those paintings belong to is.

 **My jailer visits once again…,** speaking of the devil.

"Nine Tails, it is good to see you."

The nearly primordial being just stares at the child, his power nearly visible in the dimly lit corridor.

 **How long will your pleasantries last, child? Do you truly believe such trivial things will work on me? You may butter your words with liquid gold, they will still mean nothing to me.**

"Trivial? I disagree. I am not like your other jailers, Nine Tails."

A growl shakes the corridor to it's very foundation.

 **You think too highly of yourself foolish child! You can be as different as you like, in the end all of you are the same. Now, begone.**

"Not until I at least know your name."

 **Am I not Nine Tails?**

My father is the Yondaime. My mother is ANBU; I am the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. That is what we are, not who we are. Who are you, Nine Tails?

A roar unlike anything Naruto has ever felt causes him to come back to the breeze in the classroom. He looks down at his hand and just stares dumbly as his hand shakes.

Fear. Pure unbridled fear nearly shakes him to his core, but he curls that shaking hand into a fist, and he takes a breath before refocusing on Iruka's words on courage and pride in the leaf. The scion of the Hidden Leaf sends a wave of determination and strength back to the Fox in his gut. He will not back down. Ever.

Nine Tails sway as Kurama rests his hand on the surprisingly comfortable ground of the corridor. His Jailer's visit still fresh on his mind, Kurama was unprepared for the tidal wave of sheer emotion that propels through the gate. A single word remains after the wave passes, and upon seeing it the being of chakra can only smirk.

 **CHALLENGE**

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"Team 7 is Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Shino Aburame. Your sensei will be Shisui Uchiha. Team 8 is Choji Akamichi, Kiba Inuzuka, and Ino Yamanaka. Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi. Team 9 is still in rotation. Team 10 will be Hinata Hyuga, Shikamaru Naru, and Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki. Your sensei will be Rin Nohara."

Ignoring the outbursts of Sakura and Ino, the groan of Sasuke, and the sigh of Shikamaru, Naruto's mind already begins processing his teammates, and the possibly reasoning as to why the three squads would be the way they are.

"Balance." Naruto whispers.

Shikamaru nods, "It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Hn. All three teams have an aggressive frontline combat fighter, a well-balanced mid-range fighter, and a backline support/intelligence gatherer." Sasuke finishes.

Sometimes the intelligence of his father actually scares him. It really makes surpassing him seem like that much more of a mountain of a goal. Cupping his chin once again, Naruto waits for his Sensei.

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It only took thirty minutes for the woman to walk in. She is about average height with straight brown hair, she had odd purple marks on her face. Her jonin flak jacket was open showing a black shirt with the kanji for strength embroidered on it. She was also wearing the regular jonin pants and sandals.

"Team 10? Come on, I have a reservation at Yaniku."

Her voice was soft, but Naruto could feel the firmness behind it.

This woman reminds him of his Mom.

He likes her already.

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The sun just reached its zenith as the genin hopefuls sat down at the BBQ restaurant.

"Well, let me start the introductions. I am Rin Nohara; I am jonin with specialties in medicine and taijutsu. I like strawberries and spending time with my friends. My hobbies are collecting shells and helping Lady Tsunade with experimental medicine. I dislike those who would turn their backs on their comrades and Kirigakure. Naruto, please go first."

"Yes Ma'am. I am Naruto Uzumaki. I am a genin with specialties in ninjutsu and fuinjutsu. I like ramen and training. My hobbies are gardening and helping my Mom and Dad with new seals. I dislike those who judge before knowing all the information."

Rin nods to herself. "Hinata, your turn please."

"Hai. I am Hinata Hyuga. I am a genin with a specialty in taijutsu. I like cinnamon buns and spending time with my sister. My hobby is flower pressing. I dislike people who look down on others."

Rin nods again, "Shikamaru, please go next."

"I am Shikamaru Nara. I am a genin with a specialty in strategy. I like shogi. My hobby is sleeping. I dislike people who wake me up from a good nap."

As Shikamaru finished, the air in the BBQ restaurant becomes oddly thick. Shikamaru blinks as chopsticks pierce the air next to his throat.

Rin's smile becomes dark and menacing, and are her eyes red?

" **I will not take any kind of laziness when you are under my supervision, am I clear?"**

Even though it was obvious she was directing the question at the Nara heir, every single person in the shop answers with a "Y-Yes Ma'am!"

The dark smile goes away and her eyes go back to normal as she smiles sweetly, "Good! That's what I like to hear!"

Naruto sweatdrops and thinks, 'Holy shit, she is just like mom."

Rin then, with a freshly acquired set of chopsticks, pokes and shifts the meat. Whilst doing that, she casually mentions, "It's interesting that you all said you were genin in your introductions."

She then flips the meat over, watching as the cold side begins sizzling.

"Because none of you are yet. Not until I say so, that is."

All of their faces were incredibly easy to read, and Rin stops herself from reminiscing about times long past.

"Tomorrow, at exactly 7 am we will meet at training ground 10, and you three will be tested to see whether you actually are fit to serve this village. I suggest you do not eat, unless you want to see your breakfast spread on grass. Prepare yourselves well, because I will not be holding back."

Almost as if she planned it, the meat's sizzling ends and it's ready to be eaten.

 **A/N: Let me know what you think.**


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